Recently, I listened to a segment on the health problems related to overeating in America and how the food industry has helped create that (see the end of the entry for a brief description and a link to the piece) In my opinion, the story is worth watching/reading/ listening to. Before I address the news story, I would first like to talk about something that Plato has taught me and that I think about on a regular basis.
In 583b- 587a of
The Republic, using a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon, Plato tells us that there are three levels to pleasure: Pain, pleasure, and repose (a sort of neutral point between pain and pleasure, something like good, but not great). Plato, through Socrates then says, "Let's not be persuaded that relief from pain is pure pleasure or that relief from pleasure is pure pain." Those who have not reached for pleasure and have supposed that repose is the greatest pleasure are missing out on true pleasure. Of course, here, Plato is talking about the pleasure of virtue (specifically, virtue of the mind, or wisdom; and, in fact, the proper allotment of pleasure to each part of a person).
In our context, Plato reminds us that, though we get pleasure out of eating fatty, and sugar-saturated foods, it is lower on the scale of pleasure from simply taking care of our bodies, through temperance and self-control (which, I admit, I need to ask God for more of). Indulging in/ being controlled by many pleasures will actually stop us from better, higher pleasures. They will hinder our judgment, create bad habits, and alter our characters and our ability to be wise. Often this is subtle. Often it is difficult to perceive why wisdom is so important and why we shouldn't follow the whims of lower pleasure.
We should trust the sensitive palates (speaking metaphorically here) of the likes of Plato, Aristotle, Jesus, Thomas Aquinas, and others who longed for, sought, and experiences happiness like few have. We must not settle for "repose", that comfortable spot between pain and pleasure, in our lives. Let us search for a higher pleasure.
Here is another way to understand what Plato was trying to get at: Plato tells us that when the proper ruler is in place, that everything is aligned correctly and that everything receives what is due. When tyrants rule, they seek not for the proper alignment of society, but to gain the most pleasure for themselves, and in so doing ruin the nation.
It is the same in us. If the proper ruler is in place (the mind, if it is wise) alots proper amounts of pleasure to the other parts of a person (not too much or too little food, sex, fear, pride, etc.). But if, say, the desire for food takes over, it will be a tyrant, and won't allow the mind or other important parts of a person to receive their proper pleasure. Soon enough the whole person may be ruined.
Perhaps this bit has been too metaphorical and to "airy", with nothing "solid" being said. I apologize for that, but I have still thought it worth sharing. We will do well to consider Plato's pain-repose-pleasure continuum.
Going back to the news story: as I listened, it struck me that there are two sides to this story:
1) Yes, food companies are probably making their food more tasty so that we will buy more. This "tastiness" is often unhealthy. This unhealthy "tastiness" has, to a certain extent, become an addiction, even at a chemical level. Food companies need to become virtuous, selling good products. This first part was the major focus of the story.
2) Though food companies can and should be blamed for part of the problem, and, if smoking is regulated, so should addictive and bad foods, but how much is this the fault of regular people who have not had enough virtue to steer clear from fatty foods? It is always our job to become more and more virtuous, and this often includes breaking bad habits. We need to become more virtuous.
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* Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler: "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" *
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the direct medical costs of obesity total about $147 billion a year. That amounts to nine percent of all US medical costs. It's also over $50 billion more than the annual spending on cancer. In the midst of this national focus on obesity, today we'll speak to David Kessler, who has spent the last seven years trying to understand how the food industry has changed American eating habits, made certain foods difficult to resist, and helped create the country's number one public health issue.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/3/former_fda_commissioner_david_kessler_the
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